80% of doctors in India serve only 28% of the nation’s population: Report

About 80% of doctors and 75% of dispensaries are serving urban India, which makes only for 28% of the country’s population, leaving the rest in dire need of basic health facilities, a new report revealed on Saturday.

According to a report, India is estimated to lose $4.58 trillion by 2030 due to non-communicable diseases which account for nearly 60% of annual deaths in the country.(Shutterstock)

About 80% of doctors and 75% of dispensaries are serving urban India, which makes only for 28% of the country’s population, leaving the rest in dire need of basic health facilities, a new report revealed on Saturday.

According to the report, India is estimated to lose $4.58 trillion by 2030 due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) which account for nearly 60% of deaths in India annually.

The ‘KPMG-OPPI report on healthcare access initiatives’ said that India’s total healthcare expenditure is about 4.1% of the GDP, which is among the lowest in the world.

“Seventy five percent of dispensaries, 60% of hospitals and 80% doctors are located in urban areas, serving only 28% of India,” the report said.

“Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) account for nearly 60% of deaths in India annually. The country is estimated to lose $4.58 trillion by 2030 due to them,” it said.

India’s life expectancy (68 years in 2015) and its number of hospital beds per 1,000 population (0.9) are among the lowest in BRICs nations.
(Shutterstock)

The report said that India clearly faces a “large and looming” economic and wellness burden and prioritising healthcare has never been more critical.

“It is imperative that all stakeholders collaborate and increase their commitment towards a patient-centric healthcare ecosystem,” it said.

The report analyses the current healthcare scenario in India and the future burden in access initiatives and also summarises the interventions undertaken by member companies of the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) in this regard.

Highlighting India’s poor health indices, the report said that India’s life expectancy (68 years in 2015) and its number of hospital beds per 1,000 population (0.9) were among the lowest in BRICs nations.

Noting that the country has the lowest number of physicians per 10,000 population among BRICs nations, the report said that in rural India, only 37% of people had access to In-Patient Department (IPD) facilities within a 5 km distance while only 68 per cent had access to an Out-Patient Department (OPD).

“Nearly 63 million people are in debt due to health expenditure,” it said.